


Instead of a rose, I wish to have a tiger.

by orphan_account



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Fantasy, M/M, More characters coming - Freeform, but no magic, more tags comin too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-04-24 05:44:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19166989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A prince, Barnaby Brooks Jr. is now engaged to a princess, Karina Lyle. However instead of her, Barnaby develops feelings towards her bearded bodyguard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wooo, finally starting this~  
> Hope you like my 4th fanfic. also hope it won't be as cringy :v

A man with a beard that resembles two kitties sits on a stone bench in the middle of a beautiful rose garden, around him are walls decorated with large windows and banners with blue roses and spiky vines on them. next to him sits a man with sharp green eyes that he was trying to comfort, his right cheek was burning red after being slapped from his apparently now fiance.  
Who are these two men, and why was one of them slapped? let's start from the beginning...  
\----

Kotetsu Kaburagi runs full speed ahead towards a man dressed like a jester, the knife in the jester's hand falls to the ground after being tackled by Kotetsu. People around the market quickly turn their heads and look on as the man with the kitty beard grabs the jester by the hair. A young elegant and most likely rich lady in a dress with a blue rose motif scoffs as she hides half her face with a fan that has the same pattern as the dress. Next to her stands a large man with dissapointment written over his visage.

"Dear lord, help me! I'm being attacked!"

"Who's the one attacking who here?! What were you going to do with that knife?"

Kotetsu's head is met with a large fist belonging to lady Karina Lyle's main bodyguard, Antonio Lopez. he turns to him with a scowl.

"The hell was that for?!"

"For being a dumbass! He was just going to do a juggling act, couldn't you see that?"

Kotetsu looked at the jester again who was nodding wildly, he notices a fallen over table with all kinds of small objects on the table including knifes that look similar to the one the jester held. Realizing his mistake, Kotetsu lets go of him and promptly apologizes. The jester runs off leaving his belongings on the ground.

"Pfeh! typical lower class folk, never using their heads before they act."

"I was just trying to protect you, Milady. That could've been an assasin."

"We are in the middle of the market! Only a complete buffon would assasinate someone infront of all these witnesses."

The young lady named Karina was a noble princess of Stern bild, a nowadays small kingdom, Kotetsu and Antonio were escorting her on her usual walk around the town. Antonio has been the bodyguard of Karina since she was a young age, however this is only Kotetsu's third day and he was already messing up, again. Kotetsu used to be a (sort of) farmer, but money was tight and the kingdom was desperate for some new knight recruits. Stern bild doesn't get attacked quite that often however the king has been receiving death threat letters directed towards the princess, concerned about this he wanted to find a second bodyguard, just in case.

Kotetsu perfomed quite well, he was the best of the newcomers, so he was assigned this important role, alot of pressure came with it. It doesn't help that the princess had quite the attitude, no matter what Kotetsu does, Karina always finds a way to complain about it. He thinks it's just because she's at an rebellious age when in actually it's because he keeps doing things that make her complain. things like attacking random people when they meant no harm.

Kotetsu was beyond anxious, sure he knew that being a knight was not supposed to be easy but he has the mission to protect the future queen of his kingdom! so while understandable, still at fault. The three made their way back to the castle, Karina continued to nag on the way, Antonio was still mad too but he's been friends with Kotetsu for years so something like this doesn't surprise him. he's grown used to the princess' nagging and just tuned out while Kotetsu had to suffer. Once they arrive the king comes up to them almost immediatly.

"Karina, there is something I wish to speak to you about."

His brow is furrowed and he seems to be truly furious about something. Karina wondered if she did anything wrong and quietly asks what he wants to talk about.

"It's best we talk about this privately, guards, you come along too."

"A-As you wish Milord."

The group hurries off to Karina's room.

"Hey, did you do anything to make him mad?"

"No, of course not...I think...Well, I got a new custom dress made without his permission but he shouldn't know about that..."

"...So rotten."

"What was that?!"

"Karina, what are you talking about over there?"

"N-Nothing, father!"

The king closes the curtains and locks the door, Karina slightly shakes in fear, her father never harshly punished her but words and a sharp glare still hurt. King Lyle looks back and forth, his mouth opening and closing like some sort of fish as sweat drops down his forehead.

"Is it something serious?"

Antonio asks in order to break the silence. The king coughs in order to calm himself, he finally gets the words out, the words being-

"Karina, from now on you are engaged to Barnaby Brooks Jr. in order to unify our two kingdoms."

-not quite what everyone expected.

Karina's face went blank, almost like she was making a poker face. that is until it scrunches up into a face that looks scarier than the church's illustration of the devil. she immediatly stand up and starts screaming about how she doesn't want to marry some guy she doesn't know and how he promised to never do something like this.

"Your liar! liar, liar, liar! I'm not doing this!"

"Now, I understand how you feel. however you are not being married off to him right now. He will stay in our kingdom for two months, that should be enough time to get to know him, right?"

"No!"

The two continue to bicker back and forth, the king says how he doesn't want to do this either, Karina starts to throw objects in the room at him. Just a typical fight to Antonio, but quite wild to someone like Kotetsu, sure he had some harsh fight with his brother, mother and daughter from time to time but never this hard. Antonio quietly sneaks off together with Kotetsu, they head to the changing quarters.

"So the king is marrying her off...can't believe it to be honest."

"You sound upset, what's up?"

"I'm not upset, just, y'know, surprised..."

"Hmm...Ah~ I get it, your little girl is leaving so soon~!"

"Urgh!"

"Well, You never had any kids of your own so just makes sense you would get attached, you've been with her ever since she was ten, right?"

"If you get it then stop making fun of me, you have a daughter too, how would you feel if she suddenly-"

"Kaede's off limits! Any boy that wants to get her needs to get past me first!"

"See, you know how I feel! She's only sixteen!"

"It hurts, huh?"

"She might be a selfish and annoying princess, but she's my selfish annoying princess, dammit!"

"There there, It's gonna be ok, maybe he's not that bad."

"Barnbaby Brooks...If I recall he's a prince from a long lineage of the Brooks kingdom."

"Huh? how'd you know that?"

"Sometimes I help out Karina with her lessons, I've read about the Brooks kingdom before. It's a fellow small kingdom, but unlike ours it's more wealthy and gets into wars quite frequently. they probably want to unite in order to get more manpower while king Lyle is out for the money."

"Our economy is getting pretty crappy afterall, if it wasn't for this job I might have had to sell the entire farm."

"I wouldn't really call that small plot land of yours a farm."

"It's a farm to me! besides, I got chickens now too."

Antonio and Kotetsu continued their chatter until they arrive at the sleeping quarters. A few other knights went ahead to guard Karina's room for the night. Kotetsu lays his back on the less than comfortable bed and his head on the hay filled wool pillow, even with such harsh conditions he falls asleep almost immediatly. Antonio was still anxious and nervous over this new rich guy coming to steal his little girl, well, sure she's not really his little girl, she's the little girl of the king and the queen, but at the same time- it's complicated.

Regardless, no use worrying now he thinks to himself. More useful to worry tommorow...


	2. Chapter 2

A loud thud was heard as the middle aged man named Kotetsu falls to the cold, hard stone ground. Everyone was thankfully still fast asleep, they most likely grew used to it. Kotetsu rubbed his throbbing right shoulder, It's unclear why but recently he's been falling out of bed every single night. It could be stress, it could be the relatively new enviroment, it could be because he worries how his mother and daughter are doing, heck, it could be all of those things combined. regardless, besides the pain he also feels the need of nature.

As Kotetsu makes his way to relieve himself he spots a man outside the window which showed the castle garden. The man was sitting alone on the bench with his eyes closed, he looked completely at peace...maybe even asleep. Kotetsu wonders who this fellow could be and what in the world he's doing there at this hour.

After doing the deed he hurries out to the garden he puts on some garments to go out to the garden, the man sitting alone in the middle had short slightly curly blonde hair and was wearing clothes that looked even more expensive to make than the king's, the queen's and even princess Lyle's. He was indeed as Kotetsu realized, asleep. Not sure who this guy was, he made sure not to make any hasty movements that could wake the blonde up. As he took a better look at the man's face, young, most likely in his early 20s. And also, he has to admit that he had a neat kinda handsome face.

Considering what happened today, well, yesterday?...6 hours ago, Kotetsu was guessing this gentleman was prince Brooks, Karina's fiance. This makes things even weirder, why is he here now? and why is he sleeping here of all places? doesn't he have a room extra reserved for him? taking a closer look, Kotetsu noticed a red mark on his left cheek. Kotetsu tried to brush the blonde's curly hair out of the way to see what exactly that mark was. almost instantenously the princes' eyes opened wide revealing his deep green eyes, he grabbed Kotetsu's arm and pushed him down onto the cold, hard dirty rock ground, deja vu.

"H-Hey! take it easy..."

"Hm? Where am I, who are...?"

The blonde man who is most likely the prince relaxed making Kotetsu able to get back up, he rubbed his now again right throbbing should while look at him with an annoyed expression, the prince looked back with a confused expression while rubbing his left cheek.

"Exscuse me for my rash move, however...why am I here?"

"That's what I going to ask you. you're prince Brooks, right?"

"Indeed, you are?"

"Still wondering why you fell asleep in the garden."

"What a strange name..."

"Stop acting stupid!"

"Alright alright, no need to get so angry, old man. Do you not have a sense of humor?"

"O-old man? I'm still in my 30s!"

"Ah, so you're younger than you look."

Kotetsu was legitimately starting to get pissed, if he could, he would punch his loud mouth, he would do it, but while he does some stupid things, punching a royal was too dumb of a move even for him. Kotetsu got closer to Barnaby's face who steps back in response.

"What is it that you are looking at me so strongly for?"

Kotetsu pointed at the cheek with the mark, Barnaby's eyes went up, then to the side and finally he looked like he was struck with a grand revelation. His face scrunches up as he sits back down on the stone bench, Kotetsu sat next to him with a bored expression, as if waiting to hear what revealed in the princes' head.

"My carriage's wheel broke and we, well, the guards I brought with me are stuck on the path. So I went ahead to look for some help."

"That- doesn't explain anything, are you saying that you came all the way here on foot? even faster than a carriage would?"

"I'm quite atlethic."

"I-I see...that mark though?"

"Urgh- well...that is..."

Looking at it, it was clear that the red mark was a hand print, a small hand print, most likely belonging to a young woman. gears turned in Kotetsu's head, a conclusion came up but he wasn't sure wheter that was the case.

"Did you peep on a woman changing and got caught or something?"

"!, how did you?..."

"Huh?! that's really it?"

"Well, the peeping part is wrong, it was just an accident."

"Uhuh, we're both men, you can be honest~"

"It's the truth! I was trying to find a way inside the castle, and the window of the princess was open, I didn't think she was still awake at this hour and on top of that in an indecent state."

"..."

"What?"

"We have a front door, y'know."

The prince twidled with his thumbs as his right cheek becomes slightly red just like his left.

"I....I- um.....Thought climbing in was more exciting..."

"Are you a child?!"

"Hmph..."

Kotetsu made soft groan, following up to that was a loud sigh and pat on the back for the prince. Barnaby wasn't sure what to make of this.

"Let's get you to the king, It's best we tell him about that carriage of yours."

"...I agree."

on the way Kotetsu turned to him with one more question.

"Oh yeah, you never told me why you fell asleep here."

"It's late, I got lost in this place and I'm exhausted from running."

"You really are like a child!"

...  
....  
.....  
The morning came, Kotetsu went back to bed after the whole ordeal with prince Barnaby, king Lyle sent out a rescue team and led the prince to his room all the while rubbing his hands and acting like a slimey slug. Money truly rules everything. After princess Karina woke up, she immediatly felt like going back to bed as she saw the prince of the Brooks kingdom stand in the hall infront of her room together with Kotetsu and Antonio.

"W-Wha- You- the pervert from yesterday?!"

"I told you, I am not a pervert!"

Kotetsu couldn't help but snicker under his breath, Antonio was confused to the situation at hand so he whispered to Kotetsu, asking if he knew something about this ordeal. Kotetsu got close to Antonio's ear and covered his mouth with the backside of his hand as the prince and the princess bicker.

"Anyway, I came here to apologize for yesterday, while I am not a pervert, it was dumb of me try and sneak in like that. I hope you can forgive me and get along with me after this."

"Hmmm...Hmph, I don't forgive you. You'll have to prove you're sorry with your actions."

Karina stuck her nose up high as she fanned herself after her statement. Barnaby looked at her like he was looking at a spoiled brat that kicked against his knee. Just as he was about to say something most likely rude, a big hand grabbed his head.

"You peeped...on princess Karina?..."

Antonio looked like he was out for blood, veins popping up on his forehead and everything, Kotetsu did his best to hold him back, still snickering under his breath. the prince just shivered on the ground while looking at the angry beast like man. Karina walked off with a bored poker face, her nose still up high while they were busy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I don't have a proofreader so if there are mistakes, y'know~


	3. Chapter 3

Karina's delicate hair was carefully brushed by the princess while the moon shined up above, knots that were made from the wind came untangled each time the brush went down. Karina was humming a melody to herself. She enjoys listening to musicians, especially the classic pieces she gets to hear each time her father takes her to the opera. ever since she was a child she dreams of one day being there too, but is it becoming of a royal to entertain the masses which include the lower and middle class? atleast that is what she thinks her father thinks.

But now was not the time to worry about that Karina thought to herself, right now what is important is: this new fiance of hers, Barnaby Brooks Jr.

Two years ago, Karina made her father promise to never sell her off like those others. Everytime she meet a noble that was arranged for 'the good of the nations' or for 'the good of the business' she wanted to cry out of fear that this could be her future, the couple was completely cold each and everytime and sometimes it turns out that they were cheating on one another. For him to do this despite knowing how awful forced marriages can be...unforgivable!

Sure the marriage was arranged between her parents aswell and they seem to get along fine but not everyone has such luck! then again, Karina thought to herself that she is pretty lucky to be wed with one of the more handsome princes' than a rich frog. And if her parents had that luck there is a slight chance she's blessed with such luck too...but-

"I want to fall in love on my own~!"

Not just because someone tells her to, but because she decided for herself that this one was the one! but then again:  
He is incredibly handsome  
The princesses' who met him immediatly swoon  
Despite being so popular he doesn't play around  
And on top of that, he is athletic and intelligent.  
...

He seems like an ideal guy!

But, don't forget that the best ones are the most likely to hold some skeletons in their closet, that's it. It must all be a front to hide some dark secret! or multiple secrets that would immediatly destroy his reputation beyond repair!

even the tiniest cutest dogs can kill afterall!

"Yawn~!"

Ah...All that hard thinking made Karina tired, it is about to time to go to sleep. Karina put the brush back where it belongs and slowly undressed herself in order to put on her night gown. when suddenly- she heard a sound from her window! her head turned around as quickly as it possibly could, and what she was a man with short curly blonde hair, green eyes and a threathening expression.

How long has he been there?!  
could it be a....a...

"PERVERT!"

...  
....  
.....

The man who she slapped last night so hard that he fell out the window is currently in here again with an annoyed yet fearful expression, sitting next to him was a giggling old man and a demon out for blood.

"What must I do to gain your forgiveness?"

Karina slowly fanned herself, not breaking eye contact for even a second as she does. Her mind wandered, it is true that he was indeed even more good looking in real life than in pictures, but good looking or not- anyone who creeps in through the window while someone is changing is a absolute...creep! So he did have skeletons~! Karina thought to herself. Something humiliating? Something expensive? Something that could kill- No, that one is a little extreme, he does seem to feel a tiny amount of resentment afterall.

"How about...ah, I know something! Let's hurry to the market place."

"The market?"  
Kotetsu asked.

"You are not going to have the town's people throw tomatoes or rocks at me, or will you?..."

"That sounds like a fun punishment aswell, but I have something less sadistic in mind."

"...Hooray?"

Kotetsu, Antonio and the prince walked behind the princess like baby ducklings following their mother. The women Kyaaa~ -ed everytime one came by, it didn't help that he looked at them back with a smile aftewards making atleast one of the women even pass out. Kotetsu and Antonio made disgusted looking faces that got more and more graphic each time it happened, damn this young lady killer...

Finally, Karina arrived where she wanted to. She went up the jester that Kotetsu assaulted yesterday and whispered something into his ear. The jester gave her an OK sign as he handed over his knifes to her. Antonio's disgusted expression became worried as all kinds of gruesome thought came into his mind.

"Princess, are you going to-"

"Whatever you're thinking it's incorrect and I am appalled that you would think of me like that."

"I didn't even say what I was thinking!"

"Did it involve blood and organs?"

"...Maybe."

"Appalled."

Princess Karina threw one of the knifes over to Barnaby who catched it like it was nothing, he inspected the knife wondering what the reasoning was behind the princess throwing it at him. Another knife was thrown which was catched by his other hand.

"Alright, start juggling because I'll throw the third in one...two..."

"W-Wait, I do not know how to-"

"Three!"

Barnaby tried his best to throw the knifes up just to catch them again, a motion that all clowns should know. This wasn't anything big for a citizen to do but incredibly embarrasing for someone of his standing, she assumed atleast. Not even one minute later he got the hang of it which strangely annoyed Karina, so she threw in three more at once. He once again struggled at first but after getting in the grove he was able to do it like a proffesional entertainer would.

The people around the market hurdled up marveling at the expertise of someone who was supposed to be a complete amateur at this, Barnaby seemed to enjoy all the positive attention he was getting. Which just annoyed Karina even more, She wanted Barnaby to look like a clown not to make him popular with these people! Even Kotetsu and Antonio were clapping, that is until Karina looked at them like an angry beast to which they immediatly froze up.

Finally Karina threw the seventh knife, the final one. Barnaby was being too overconfident and instead of catching it, it prodded his hand, the shock breaking his concentration and therefore the juggling flow. They all came crashing down on the floor, some of them grazing his shoes as they fell. Karina and the crowd looked on in shock as blood came flowing out of the princes' hand, Kotetsu quickly ran up to him.

"Ah, crap! I thought this could happen..."

Antonio glared at the princess who was currently looking like a kicked puppy, she didn't think he could actually get hurt with how good he was at it! in the first place she only wanted to throw three! well- this was a punishment in the first place so...yeah! no reason to feel bad about this, punishments are supposed to hurt, besides he uh- he most likely gets hurt worse in real battles! Yes, Karina did nothing wrong, nope. Just gonna keep her head high.

Antonio sighed because he was thinking this was going through her head right now considering her guilty expression faded just to return to her usual haughty one.

Kotetsu panicked, what to do...what to do...well, for now Kotetsu wrapped the bleeding hand with a yellow handkerchief that had a cutesy tiger on it, Barnaby held back a loud laugh, what was a grown man like him doing with such a adorable handkerchief?

"We'll get it fixed up back in the cast-...what's with that face? something funny?"

"Hm? Not at all."

"Spit it out, I know it's going to be annoying so you don't have to hold back."

"It's just...this handkerchief, does this really belong to you?"

"Sure does, my daughter bought it for me."

"Ah. So that's why..."

"You have a problem with it?"

"Not at all, your daughter has good taste."

"She sure does. So don't say anything bad about it!"

"Wasn't planning on it~."


	4. Chapter 4

"Karina, What were you thinking?"

The group arrived back at the castle, while Kotetsu was busy going with Barnaby to get first aid, Antonio took it upon himself to lecture the princess. It's true that she gets spoiled alot, but there are limits even for her. one of those limits is getting another person hurt for her amusement.

"I didn't think he would-"

"He was juggling knives!" Antonio interrupted. "Of course he would hurt himself, he even said that he didn't know how to juggle in the first place."

"And yet he was able to do it!"

"Until his hand got stabbed after you threw too many at him."

"Urgh..."

Karina did feel sorry, but would she admit it? maybe later. for now she was going to do what she always does after being lectured: sulk. Sulk until she feels too bad to continue sulking and then get up to admit her mistake. Not only did she hurt a person, she did it to her future husband! what if he decides to break up the engagement after this? what if he's going to be cold to her from now on like all those other arranged couples she met? Karina was at a loss, all kinds of terrible thoughts clouded her head. She should have just asked the town's folk to throw tomatoes at him afterall...  
Meanwhile, in the nurse room:

Kotetsu and Barnaby explained what happened at the market, handkerchief still wrapped around the princes' hand. The nurse was an elderly woman with dazed look and shaky hands, She tried to look for plasters and/or bandages but without her glasses it was a tough job for her.

"Um, Do you need some help, miss?" Kotetsu asked.

"Ah, No no, all I need is to find those dang glasses. I probably forgot them in the courtyard again, silly me. Just a few minutes, boys."

The nurse calmly walked off, either she doesn't know she was nursing a prince from another kingdom or she didn't care. Whatever it was, the situation was somewhat awkward with the silence and all.

"So...this daughter of yours...what's her name?" Barnaby took the first step to break the ice.

"Hm? Why're you asking?"

"Just trying to make small talk."

"Oh, Her name's Kaede. She's a sweet little angel~."

"Kaede and Kotetsu...I'm guessing from those names that you weren't born in this kingdom? or rather, in this land?"

"Nah, I was, But my mom wasn't. some stuff went down where she's from so she fled together with my brother. according to her some economy crisis went on or something along that. My dad wasn't around either so money was especially tight. "

"Wait so, did your family get here illegaly? Why would you admit a crime so openly?..."

"Wh- they didn't get here illegaly!....I think." Kotetsu scratched the side of his head, he never thought about it, but they most likely did.

"Ahaha..." Barnaby chuckled.

"What about your family? Tell me about em'"

"Hm? Oh...Not much to say. I have a charismatic mother, a nice father and a generous maid. similar to the nurse from now."

"Any deep dark secrects? you rich folk have something to hide, don't you?"

"You really have absolutely no idea how to filter yourself, do you?"

"W-Was that too much?"

The two continued to chatter, no big things like deep dark secrets, small things, things like Kotetsu telling him about the accident from yesterday, things like Barnaby telling him how something similar actually happened to him with a noble who thought he was a burglar...wait.

"Why did he think you were a burglar?"

"Well um, Because I broke in..."

"...I've been wondering something for a while now, you broke into the house of a noble and you broke into the room of the princess...why? why would you do something like that? you have absolutely no reason to act like some kind of burglar or assasin. Or do you?"

"It's just, kind of cool."

"It's...cool?"

"Y'know, sneaking into the house of a noble without being seen like a phantom, it sounds cool, right?" Barnaby said with his eyes looking towards the corners of the room.

"..."

"..."

"You uh, You a fan of novels?"

"Yes."

"I'm guessing novels featuring chivalrous thieves."

"Yes..."

"...Pff, just like a child~ copying things from fiction! and on top of that you got caught."

"I only did it two times!"

"And both times you were caught immediatly."

"Urgh..."

Just then the nurse finally came back, with glasses on this time. Kotetsu composed himself while Barnaby gave him angry stares, it's true that it's incredibly childish to do something like that just because a cool character from fictional media was able to, and yet, Barnaby did it. despite having behavioral classes for several years, despite being loved by many people not only from his kingdom but from others aswell, despite all that, he wishes to be like someone from a novel, or write one himself.

He told this to Kotetsu as they left the nurse's room, who had absolutely no idea what to say to that. Kotetsu has fantasized many times about things that he read or saw in the theater, but actually doing that because he was bored? that just seemed like a too rich thing. he said that outloud by the way, which just brought shame to the prince even more.

"So basically, you're unhappy, right?"

"I wouldn't say that...Just looking for something more. I want there to be more in my life than just being a king and having a wife someday."

"Then, how about you do write one?"

"Huh?" Barnaby looked at him with confused eyes.

"Y'know, write a novel, with you as the main character, doing all the things you want to do. It's what I'd do...If I had the patience to write that is."

"Hmm...I've thought about that, but sitting down and writing doesn't as exciting as doing it yourself."

"There you go again...you could cause serious problems for yourself if you continue like that!"

"That's true..."

"Before I became a knight, I just fantasized about it, not getting any serious trouble...mostly." Kotetsu whispered the last part quietly.

"Mostly?"

"Well there was that one time- B-But that doesn't matter right now!"

"Well, writing a novel sounds kind of exciting, I do not have the slightest idea how to professionally write though."

"You also had no idea how to juggle yet were able to do it."

"That is true...Yeah, I just have to learn how and- Oh, princess Karina..."

Barnaby and Kotetsu were stopped in their tracks as Karina showed up from the corner, her head sunken the same was with her eyes, she jittered, like a toddler having to admit they broke something while they were playing, which she did, in a way. Barnaby slowly went forward and put his unhurt hand on Karina's cheek, he looked at her with a forgiving smile.

"Hey now, I might be a little mad. But in the end it was supposed to be punishment, right? don't beat yourself up over this."

"B-But...your hand..."

"It's going to be healed up in a week at most, the cut wasn't that shallow as I thought initially."

Karina still has an upset expression on her face, she felt awful, she couldn't believe the words Barnaby was saying and she doesn't want him to hate her for this. 

"But I also slapped you which caused you to fall out of the window, and i've been bad mouthing you and thinking badly of you simply because of the engagement, and-"

She interrupted herself as the prince gave Karina a gentle kiss on the forehead, Kotetsu gasped in surprise. 'This lady killer...' He thought to himself.

Karina's face flushed a deep pink as Barnaby left, disappearing from the corner she came from with Kotetsu following him. Kotetsu looked at Barnaby like he was looking at a pile of living cheese, which he indeed was, But Kotetsu filtered himself this time and said nothing. Just walking behind him with a annoyed expression. On their way they met with Antonio, the prince panicked and walked quickly passed him.

"What's up with him?" He asked Kotetsu.

"Haha...Well, I could tell you but you gotta promise something first, promise that you won't kill him."

"...I'll say I promise, but wheter I mean it or not depends on what it is he did."

"Well then, come closer."

"..."


	5. Chapter 5

Antonio tried his best to compose himself after what Kotetsu has told him, They were in the hall of the king so throwing a tantrum and trying to threaten a prince would get him thrown into the dungeon no questions asked.

King Lyle summoned everyone that was working for the castle, not as many people as Barnaby assumed, only about a 1/4 showed up compared to his own work force, was money really this tight here? the answer is yes. At first glance the dress that Karina and her parents wear look incredibly expensive and well made, but they aren't clothes that people from royal class would wear, they are clothes belonging to the likes of someone between middle class and high class.

The workers were even worse off, most of the people's clothing looked worn out, holes and stains on every single one, some having more than others. The armor of the few knights that appeared looked decent, if it wasn't for the clear rust on them.

At this point Barnaby wasn't even listening to whatever the king was saying, just staring at the people looking back at him. the blushing maids that were most likely in their 30s, the old man in a gardening outfit, the nurse from before who seems to have lost her glasses again and the knights who don't seem to care about this at all, the only ones paying attention from that group was the kitty bearded old man known as Kotetsu and some younger looking guys who didn't look like they were dead inside quite yet.

The king finished up his speech, raised a toast to Barnaby and his kingdom's name, the people in the hall began clapping and pouring themselves glasses of wine, chattering about the weather and such, some light weights started talking complete nonsense so most people started to leave together with their already drunk friends. Kotetsu came up to the prince who was trying not to get swarmed by the maids and other female workers.

"What a day, huh? First you get stabbed then you get hammered with cheap wine."

"This wine does taste kind of disgusting, from what year is it?"

"Uh...I don't know, the labels are scratched up and yellowish so it's gotta be atleast more than a few years old."

Barnaby took another sip, scrunched up and put the glass on one of the tables that were put in the hall in disgust. the tables didn't have much on them, a few fruit baskets, some ham, a white cloth, decent for a welcoming party like this.

"So...Antonio wants to kill you."

"I've noticed." Barnaby said with his eyes closed.

"You gonna let him?"

"Do I have a choice?" He said glancing at the middle aged man.

"Depends on you."

"Then I would like to continue breathing, thank you very much."

"Alright, but no promises...Hey, going back to that writing a book thing, are you doing it or not?" Kotetsu took a small sip as he asked.

"Well, it seems like a good idea. but right now doesn't seem to be a good time."

"Huh? Why not?" Kotetsu asked innocently.

"...My dominant hand has been stabbed, Kotetsu."

"Oooh, right right. But do you have any ideas for later?"

"For now only just something about a noble thief similar to me...and that's it. I'll brainstorm a few ideas until I'm able to write."

As the two were chattering Karina looked on hiding in a crowd close to them. 'why did he do that?! does he think I'm such a easy girl? well I'm not!...It wasn't that bad though' Karina thought to herself. 'He's going to be my husband so doing stuff like that should be the norm...and things like that and like this...a-and...things like...aaah! what am I even thinking about?!', Karina started panicking and ran back to her room, "K-Karina? What happened?" Antonio said as he followed shortly afterwards.

Kotetsu took notice and brought up another theme that bugged him.

"Hey, You're not gonna cheat on her, or are you actually like "that", lady killer?"

"Stop calling me 'hey' and 'lady killer', Of course I am not going to cheat on her...If we get together that is."

"Not really up for it?"

"She seems kind of childish."

"Similar to you then." Kotetsu laughed.

"Haha, that will never get old to you, will it?" Barnaby laughed alongside him in an annoyed and sarcastic way.

More and more people started leaving, the maids couldn't leave since they have to clean the place now, each one of them sighed in annoyance. 

Barnaby headed towards his guest room, In the room was a large bed that while not as nice as the one in Karina's room was still very big and soft. the room was overall kind of empty, a table here, a closet there...that was it. Barnaby opened the window, he looked at the village with a emotionless expression. He doesn't hate this place, however he was missing his own home. He is going to be staying here for two whole months. The only people Barnaby knows are the two knights he brought with him, the woman he was marrying to wasn't his type and the lower quality of everything was dissapointing to say the least, the problems of a rich man.

Still, there were a few good things, the garden was beautiful. The smell of the roses was nice and on the night that he fell asleep there he felt at peace...which didn't last long since Kotetsu woke him up about ten minutes later.

Kotetsu, 'A weird guy' would be Barnaby's opinion of him. He isn't from this land, he's incredibly blunt and despite being so annoying he doesn't seem like a bad person, just a weird one. Barnaby continued staring out at the clouds since he didn't really know what to do, it's best to rest up since he's hurt. What was he supposed to do...Maybe a stroll through the village would be something- wait. no. People that saw that morning might swarm around him to ask about his injury or start telling others.

Barnaby covered up what happened when King Lyle asked, word on the street might spread more than it most likely already has if he went out and she would most likely be punished if the King finds out the truth.  
Barnaby decided he would take a nap and converse with the princess later, she might not have the best spot in Barnaby's mind but you should always give people another chance, a third one that is. She did apologize, and just like Kotetsu didn't seem to be a bad person, just also a little weird. Barnaby closed the window as he climbed into the covers, relaxing, closing his eyes, drifting to the land of sleep.

 

Meanwhile-

"AGH!"

The knights were out training their combat skills, they mostly skip it but Kotetsu forces them to do it atleast once a week. 'having a higher position pays off afterall!' He thought to himself. Antonio was able to fully let out frustration this way, Karina is no longer a little girl, she can do whatever she wants with him. She can do that, She can do those things and eventually she will....do...that...

"HURGH! Have mercy!" his victim cried out.

Antonio lunged towards the poor knight who had no idea why Antonio was so furious, he slammed him against the ground like a rag doll.

"Get up, you won't be able to stand in a real fight if this keeps up."

"You aren't like other people, Antonio! Fighting with you is like trying to fight with an ox!"

"S-Shut it, Kotetsu! The reason these guys have been so weak is because they never train!"

"Hmm...that is true, still, go easy on them. They didn't kiss Karina, I think atleast."

"...You are testing my patience, Kotetsu."

"Oh? You want to have a fight with me, huh?" Kotetsu got up close to Antonio while cracking his knuckles.

"Maybe, Maybe not." Antonio said as he cracked his neck.

The two stared at each other, the air was heavy and menacing, almost as if it was burning. The knights circled them and slowly started to chant 'Fight!'.

"Looks like these lazy sacks want some demonstration, want them to see what a real fight looks like?"

"Pff, This won't even take a minute." Antonio scoffed.

"Hoho! confident, aren't you? you won't keep that smug grin for long..."


	6. Chapter 6

"*Yawn*~"

Barnaby stretched his arms all the way up, cracked his neck a bit and got out of the bed, sandman's sand still sticking in his eyes. He didn't have the best sleep, likely due to being in a different enviroment, the stress might not be showing directly but everyone gets anxious in other kinds of ways. He looked out the window to find that he slept for quite a good while considering the sky was starting to turn red, orange and yellow. he slept for a good five hours at most.

Now, what to do? The prince still has zero idea what this place has to offer, originally he wanted to speak with Karina, but last time he entered her room during night time he went flying out the window so...then again, that time she didn't know who he was, now that she does she probably would be ok with it. Even if her over protective ox-like body guard isn't. How about, inviting her to show her around? She grew up here so the princess should know all of interesting things this place might offer. It would also give them a chance to grow together, or atleast Barnaby thinks so.

The prince changed into better looking clothes since his current ones were all wrinkled from the nap, he put on a black top, over it he put on a red vest and black trousers, his pair of footwear stayed the same, brown leather shoes. Lastly he wiped his slightly smeared glasses, slightly combed his hair and went on out looking all snazzy. The sun was nearly at the bottom now, the sky was starting to turn a dark and it's no longer easy to look outside.

On the way to the princess' room he saw a familiar face looking all smug even though it's bruised.

"Kotetsu? What happened?"

"Ah, it's nothing~" Kotetsu continued having that annoyingly smug expression on his visage.

"That on your face is not nothing." Barnaby said as he pointed towards Kotetsu's swollen cheek.

"Look, sometimes a tiger has to show an ox who's boss, y'know?"

"...I don't, but that doesn't matter right now. I'm off to see the princess."

"Huh? Right now?" Kotetsu asked.

"Would that be a problem?"

"Hmm...Right now she's probably being still tutored."

"At this hour?"

Kotetsu shrugged. "She doesn't want to study during the day so she convinced her tutor to move her lecturing hours during the evening on a few days, that's what Antonio told me."

Barnaby's plan went down the drain, he could ask her tommorow, but what was he supposed to do now?

"Why did you want to go see her this late anyway?"

"I was exhausted so I took some rest and ended sleeping a lot longer than expected. I wanted to ask her to show me around, show all the things that can entertain you here." Barnaby said while scratching his cheek, it wasn't exactly a lie but he did want to use this as a excuse to have some alone time with his maybe fiance.

"How bout' I show you around?"

Barnaby thought about it for second, Kotetsu is a normal person who grew up outside the castle walls so he might show off some things the lower class would call fun, curiousity did arise so he nonchalantly nodded his head.

"Why not? Might be fun."

"Alright! Since it's dark out I'll show you what kind of stuff we normal people do for fun here in the castle, I'll show you the village and such tomorrow."

Barnaby followed the older man to the knight quarters, a few of them were already in bed or out with other work friends. There were three people sitting around playing some sort of card game, Antonio and some other guys. Antonio instantly growled as Kotetsu stepped in, scaring Barnaby off enough to almost lose his footing, he really seemed to be afraid of the ox-like man. Antonio noticed the prince hiding behind Kotetsu and waved at him, Barnaby hesistantly waved while forcing a smile. the two sat next to the trio and asked what kind of game they were playing.

"Old maid, wanna join?"

"Sure, prince over here seems to be bored enough. Oh, do you know how Old maid works?"

"No not really, I have played a few card games here and there but overall they don't interest me that much."

Antonio explained the rules, simple stuff. If you get stuck with only one card, that card being the old maid, you lose. The tiger and the ox were focused on each other, Kotetsu might have won before but if he loses now his glory will be lost. Battlefield, card game, all loses are loses. During that whole game they made sure not to lose to each other so much that one of them wasn't being careful enough outside of that personal battle and ended up getting trapped by the prince. Kotetsu was left with the old maid and a ace of spades, it's all or nothing now, don't take the left card, don't take the left card, don't t- he's taking the left one. Great.

"Hah! The crown is back on my head." Antonio said, looking down at the defeated Kotetsu.

"The hell are you talking about? you didn't win that round!"

"True, but you lost."

"Not to you! you're still the loser here."

"What does that make you then?!" Antonio snapped.

"Also a loser, I guess?" Barnaby quietly intervened.

"Well then, looks like we're both losers for today..." Kotetsu said dryly.

"Just gonna have to win during our 'demonstration' for tommorow."

"Getting cocky again? didn't you learn from the first time, dumb cow?"

"C-Cow?! I'm a guy!"

"Ah, I see that annoys you more, I'm gonna call you that from now on." Kotetsu said as a wide mischievous grin formed on his face.

"That's it! I'll just get my revenge now!"

Kotetsu and Antonio scuffled like children after school, Barnaby and the other knights watched them while snacking on some chestnuts one of the knights had hidden. Barnaby wasn't enjoying the card game that much even if he did win, seeing these two fight however was some true entertainment he didn't want to miss out on. Some of the knights came back since it was almost 11 pm, they broke the fight up and forced them to hold their fire for now so that they can get a wink of sleep as they put it.

Kotetsu escorted Barnaby back to his room, on the way the older man explained the sort of rivalry Antonio and him had, Antonio has been with Karina ever since he was 21, before that he used to work at a grocer together with Kotetsu who was part timing, Antonio might be a bit more composed than the kitty bearded man but he can get just as wild as him if you make him angry enough. The two often got into fights, which somehow made them become best friends in the process.

"His name...is he also not from this land?" Barnaby asked.

"Yup, he says he moved here shortly after turning into an adult. Originally he wanted to explore the world but then got stuck here due to money problems. He does however always accompany Karina when she visits other kingdoms though."

"Exploring the world, huh? didn't expect him to be so simple."

"What's wrong with being simple?" Kotetsu tilted his head.

"Nothing nothing. It's just for such a, well, somewhat scary man..."

"Scary? Pff- Yeah right! He might look scary but he's just as threathening as a pillow. Just don't touch his little princess and he'll warm up to you."

"I'll try to keep that in mind from now on then."

They said their goodbyes and went back to their rooms, Barnaby lied down back onto his bed, he wasn't that tired considering he slept during a large part of the day but what else was there to do?...his hand was feeling better so maybe he could start writing that novel. But first, now that he remembers, he should write to his parents. They told him to write shortly after he arrives there, tell them how he feels what it's like, what he thinks of the princess and lastly, wheter he wants to break the engagement off.

He wrote most of the above except for the last question, he wasn't quite sure yet, but he felt like staying might not be so bad in the long run. Again, the princess seems not too bad and as long as he doesn't try anything with her Antonio won't break his skull, besides, he's been having a nice time with the kitty bearded old man.

'Three more days should be enough to see wheter I want to stay.' Barnaby wrote.

He put the letter aside and made himself comfortable under the blanket, closing his eyes and just letting go, relaxing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the later than usual update, life stuff happened


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update dates may vary from here on because I just, well, I'm lazy

Kotetsu groaned while changing into clothes not covered in dirt and grass, once again he had an awful night of no sleeping. He woke up at around 2AM, by woke up that means he fell on the ground head first. when he got back to bed he just couldn't get comfortable and kept tossing himself around, so Kotetsu took this sleepless time to train, hoping to make himself tired enough to pass out in the process. He did, after 3 hours, and all that just helped him to sleep for 30 minutes.

Antonio noticed the bags under his eyes, the lack of usual motivation and overall exhaustion exuding out of Kotetsu so much that it's almost a visible manifestation.

"You look worse than usual, did something happen?"

"I'm just gonna ignore your 'than usual' comment, tonight was just the worst..." Kotetsu sighed.

"Maybe you should take a day off."

"I can't do that! we're understaffed and unmotivated as is."

"Kotetsu, I'm being serious, You look like a corpse. You're gonna pass out if you don't take some time off." Antonio said in a deep tone.

"N-No need to get so angry..."

"Go visit your Kaede or something, that might help you relieve some stress considering how obsessed you are with her."

"It's true that I haven't had my fill of seeing Kaede's smile ever since I became Karina's bodyguard." Kotetsu rubbed his chin, considering Antonio's advice. "Also, why's the kettle calling the pot black here? You're just as nutty about Karina."

"Oh, Shut it. Say hi to Kaede and your mom for me while you're there, Muramasa too if he's around."

"Yeah yeah..."

The middle aged tiger man threw some cold water on his face and stretched his cheeks to get some color into them, 'don't want to scare her with this awful face.' he thought to himself. As he prepared to leave the castle he remembered the promise he made to Barnaby yesterday evening, He could do it later in the afternoon, but Kotetsu barely has enough energy to walk to his own home let alone walk around the village. Maybe...He could bring Barnaby with him, maybe? He seemed somewhat interested in commoner stuff last night, breaking his promise would make Kotetsu feel shitty so might aswell, right? getting to see his little angel while still upholding responsibility, two birds with one stone.

He hurried over to the princes' room, he seemed to have just finished dressing himself, perfect! Barnaby turned his head in surprise when Kotetsu opened the door so suddenly.

"Have you never heard of knocking, Old man? I could've been naked!" Barnaby said in annoyance.

"Well you're not, besides, what's the big deal? we're both guys."

"...Anyway, why did you come here?"

The old tiger grabbed Barnaby by the arm and pulled him out of the room. "I promised you to show off some of the village today, right? let's hurry up, early bird gets the worm~"

"W-Wait! There's something I need to take with me before we go!"

"Hm? What is it?"

...  
....  
.....

Kotetsu and Barnaby stood infront of a yellow painted wooden house, next to the front door was a small chicken coop housing three plumpy hens.

There were a few cobwebs here and there but that was usual for most houses, 'Kind of small for a farm' Barnaby thought to himself, He never went to a farm himself so he wasn't exactly sure to expect, he did atleast expect it to be more than just normal house with a coop.

"The actual farm is in the backyard, I know I call it a farm but...It still needs some time to grow..." Kotetsu said while scratching the back of his head.

Barnaby stares at him with a deadpan look. Kotetsu avoids the gaze and quickly opened the front door. Once they entered they're greeted by a girl with short brown hair and brown amber eyes similar to Kotetsu's and a man with a stern look on stubbly face who was peeling carrots together with the little girl.

Kotetsu picked up her up and gave the brown haired girl a big hug against her wishes.

"Kaede~ Did you miss me~?"

"L-Let go of me! I'm not a little kid anymore!" Kaede struggled to get out of the tiger's grasp. "Stop it already, it's embarrasing!"

Kotetsu let go of the little girl who was absolutely furious, her cheeks were completely flushed and she stared at him like a wild animal about to attack. Kotetsu quietly said under his breath "I thought you'd be happier to see me..."

"So...are you just going to ignore me?" The man with the stubbly beard said.

"Oh, didn't notice you were here too."

"As bratty as ever, even though you're in your thirties you still-"

"Yeah yeah, I don't want to hear your lecture. I thought you worked at a bar now."

"Night shift, What about you mister bodyguard of the princess?"

"Got a day off, thought I should visit the family. Oh, Antonio says hi by the way." Kotetsu shrugged

"Hi back, So, who's that guy fidgeting behind you?"

Kotetsu noticed Barnaby staring around like a bored child waiting for his mom to finish catching up with her gal pals, He almost forgot about the guy.

"Oh right, let me introduce you, this is Bar- Oph!" Barnaby quickly put his hand over Kotetsu's mouth. "Bar- Barry! My name is Barry...Johnson. It is nice to meet you."

"Uhm, Nice to meet you too."

Kotetsu took away Barna- Barry's hand. "And uh, This is my brother, Muramasa and my daughter, Kaede."

Kaede looked suspiciously at the blonde man, the reason for why is obvious.

Barnaby wore a disguise this time in order not to get noticed, who knows what might happen if he went out looking like he does. No doubt the two would've gotten alot of attention if he went out looking like this, even if they don't know who he is. Assasins, fangirls, where is even the difference?

He put on a sort of cap that hid most of his hair except for the bangs and a pair of sunglasses. Barnaby didn't have anything else to hide his face so he had to take these even if it's weird for someone to wear sunglasses indoors, then again wearing a hat indoors is weird too so it balances out.

"I've never seen you around here before, how do you know my dad?" She asked.

"Oh, uhm we...." The secret prince struggled to find a good excuse. Kotetsu noticed so he stepped in, "He's a...new recruit! Some stuff went down where comes from so he fled and became a knight, we're desperate for new members so we went ahead and hired him immediatly, Haha..."

"Huh...Well whatever, Now that you're finally here you can go ahead and help out." Muramasa threw a carrot and a peeler to his brother.

"What?! I slave away all day and now you expect me to peel carrots?"

"Yeah, what else did you come here for?"

"To take some time off!"

"This isn't a hotel."

"C'mon, Muramasa~ I just want to spend a day with my little angel~ You know how busy my job is now."

"Our job isn't easy either, We need to have a kid helping out to meet ends meet and mom nearly broke her back yesterday."

"Huh?! Is she ok?" Kotetsu panicly asked.

"Course' she's ok, just resting upstairs. So help out already! You can spend time with Kaede this way too, can't you?"

"I-...Ugh, Alright."

"Should I help out too?" Barnaby asked.

Muramasa thought about it before he nodded his head. "I guess, not sure why you would want to though."

...  
....  
.....


End file.
